Sean C. Morgan
Just in time for the Dec. 17 premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the Rio Theater has brand new sound throughout the auditorium.
As of last week, just three of the original surround-sound speakers in the auditorium remained. The rest are new.
Rio Owner Thomas Baham, with the help of Joel Miller of NW Projection of Portland, replaced the main sound equipment, hidden behind the movie screen, last week.
“It’s bigger, better, badder, louder, more power and cleaner,” Baham said. “The sound quality is going to be awesome. The dialogue we’re going to hear is so much better.”
When Baham and his wife Erika purchased the theater a year ago, individual horns handled highs and mid-range sounds. The system had a single 10-inch sub. The new speakers are the latest upgrade to the facility, which opened in 1950, following new (to The Rio) seating, extensive painting and facade improvements and other changes.
The new sound system includes three new stacks, each with a horn to handle highs, four mid-range speakers and two 15-inch subs. They flank a main sub with a pair of 18-inchers.
The system makes use of nine amps, up from three. The old system ran on 125 watts on each amp. The new one is running at 2,500 watts on nine amps.
“We can make it louder,” Baham said, but that’s not the goal. “We want it to be crisper. This is huge. This is something I was looking at as a 10-year project.”
But he found the speakers at a new IMAX theater that closed, Baham said. A church bought the theater, and he contacted the pastor, who gave the Rio a great deal on the sound system.
“This is way overkill for Sweet Home,” he said.
Baham said he has only three of the old speakers left in the surround sound, he said. Those were the only ones that weren’t blown, but he’s still hoping to replace those before “Star Wars.” They cost $600 each.
“I wanted to have this ready to go by Star Wars,” Baham said.
“Mockingjay 2” continues this week, followed by a movie still to be announced. Star Wars opens with a special show at 9 p.m. on Dec. 17.
For more information, visit sweethomerio.com.